Diabolik Angel
by IndigoBlueButterfly
Summary: A young girl recently disappeared during a trip to stay with some supposed relatives. The last place she was seen was outside the gate of a large mansion. The inhabitants of said mansion are not human, and they are not the sort of people you would leave alone around anyone, let alone an innocent girl. This is where Thalia comes in.
1. Chapter 1

**This first chapter is a test chapter. Let me know how badly I performed ya'll. Lay it on me, I can take it loljkI'mlyingplsbegentle.**

 **EDIT: I would like you all to think of this a modern spinoff story, unconnected to my main story. I'm so glad so many people liked the relationship between Thalia and Sieglinde, and the relationship between Thalia and Sebastian. Also, yeah I picked Reiji, because he's a more sadistic, less likeable version of Sebastian.**

 **I don't own anything other than Thalia, because fanfiction. Thank you all for supporting my stories!  
**

 **Haunted Manor**

Somewhere at the edge of the English countryside, behind a wide and swooping gate, stood a large castle that had stood there for hundreds of years. The grey stone walls of the old structure were covered in moss and vines, and the grounds were filled with flowers, the most abundant of which were blood red roses.

It was elegant in the way period pieces tend to be. The entire estate was large, sprawling even, but not obnoxiously so. It was tasteful, unassuming, yet stylish.

On that cool, early spring evening, a young lady stood in front of the castle gate. She was dressed in a white dress with a low, swooping back, and long sleeves. Her legs were clad in long white socks, and on her feet were a pair of black, low-heeled boots. Wrapped carefully about her shoulders was a sheer black shawl, the long ends of which fluttered in the wind.

In one hand she held a small red bag, and in the other a notebook that she seemed to be referring to through narrowed eyes.

The woman looked from the book to the house, and seemed to reach a decision. As expected, no one had come to meet her at the gate, so she carefully let herself into the castle courtyard. In the middle of the grounds was a fountain, atop which sat a grey gargoyle, or some sort of demon. She snorted at the squat caricature, and breezed towards the house at a determined pace.

Once she reached the large front door, she grasped the plain knocker and rapped one, two, three times. No one answered, unexpected this time. She knocked again, just to be sure, and then reached for the door handle.

The door swung open by itself with an ominous squeal of metallic hinges. The interior seemed dim and barely lit, in spite of how sunny it was outside. The lady considered the blue-black gloom beyond the door for a second, and then stepped inside.

As she'd suspected, there was no one on the other side. The door opened out into an opulent front room, with marble pillars reaching up to a high ceiling on either side. On the ground was a narrow, scarlet-red carpet – the same shade as her shoes – that went from the door up a wide staircase, and above that was a lit golden chandelier.

The lady _ooh_ -ed and _ah_ -ed with appreciative curiousity and awe as she admired the decor of the house, looking left and right, and twirling to take everything in. That was when she caught the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. She turned to see who it was.

It was a girl and a boy, both approximately the same age if she had to guess. The girl had pale blonde hair, dark pink eyes, and the countenance of someone who had been suffering for a long time but had generally resigned themselves to it for the time being. The boy, on the other hand, had dark red hair and green eyes, and a generally disagreeable expression.

They both froze upon seeing her, and the young woman smiled in greeting. "Hello," she spoke politely. "I'm looking for someone called Komori Yui?" The blonde jerked, and the woman's eyes fixed on her and brightened. "That's you, isn't it? It's lovely to see that you're still alive. No thanks to these idiots, I take it?"

The boy gave a confused snarl, and stalked down the stairs towards her. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?"

"My name is Thalia," she replied, maintaining her smile even as he stopped a foot away from her. "I was sent here to investigate the disappearance of Komori Yui. What?" She arched a disparaging eyebrow at the surprised look on his face. "She's been gone for almost a month. Someone was bound to become curious."

Yui took a hesitant step forward, stunned that there were actually people looking for her. It gave her a small piece of hope. "Were you sent by my father?" She asked, cowering back when Ayato sent a growl her way.

"Your father?" The woman, Thalia, ignored his furious expression entirely. "Oh, Komori Seiji! I believe so, although I don't have all the answers. Ayato, is it?" She snapped her attention back to the redhead before he could yell. "Since you clearly have no idea what's going on, is there anyone else I can talk to?"

"Like hell you are!" The boy snarled, baring unnaturally sharp fangs in a threatening manner. "Don't you know what we are?! I oughta-!"

"What is all this commotion?"

Another man came down the stairs. He looked more distinguished than the red haired vampire, entirely more put together. He had dark purple hair that lightened into a silvery shade at the tips, and purple-red eyes. He tutted at Ayato. "This is the entrance hall," he said. "We don't greet our guests in such a rude manner." Thalia blinked and thought he reminded her very much of someone else. His eyes landed on her, and he arched an eyebrow. "And who might you be?"

She repeated the story again, and all the time she spoke Reiji studied the woman consideringly. She was pale, nearly monochrome, with white skin littered with silvery scars, and white hair that fell to the tops of her shoulders where it curled into loose red ringlets. Red eyes, red hair, red paint on a white background…

 _Lovely…_

Once she was done, he frowned, and then sighed and readjusted his glasses. "I think we should move this upstairs. I suppose school can be put off for tonight. The others should be alerted to this development."

* * *

Ψ†Ψ

* * *

When Ciel had received a phone call detailing this little adventure, Thalia had been interested right from the start (right after she got over being righteously furious). This was something that hit a little close to home for her, and she wasn't afraid to step in and play the role of a protector if she could. She loved a soul-consuming creature from hell after all, and she'd looked death in the eyes a great many times – sometimes of her own volition. At this point, there wasn't much that could scare her anymore.

A few moments later, she was seated on a sofa what seemed to be a small tearoom. On one side of the room was a large cupboard, which probably held valuables of some sort. In the middle of the room were two plush armchairs that stood facing each other, and between them was the sofa she and Yui had settled in.

Thalia placed her bag beside her, leaving one hand on it. The other hand held her notebook, and she casually ignored the other individuals in the room, opting to flip through pages of text. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the nervous, furtive glances Yui shot her way, but she only glanced up when she heard footsteps at the top of the staircase balcony overlooking the room.

"Oh? I thought I sensed another human other than the Little Bitch~" a new voice cooed. Thalia stared at the newcomer, and the one coming up behind him. The one that had spoken looked very much like Ayato, but he had a looser air about him, and generally seemed more playful, but not in a fun way. He leered down at her. "She's cute~"

Thalia stared at him for a second, before looking away dismissively. "My darling won't appreciate that." The other man was taller than the other two, with hair like – she consulted her notes – Reiji's, and similar eyes. He looked more annoyed by the proceedings, and he barely spared her a glance as he loped towards one of the far walls and leaned against it.

"Pretty hair..." Thalia turned to her left. Standing by her side of the couch was another boy, one with hair a brighter shade of purple than Reiji's, and matching eyes. He had dark bags under his eyes, and clutched a teddy bear to his chest. Thalia considered him thoughtfully. On the one hand, he had that childlike quality of cute that that she so often found adorably irresistable, but on the other hand... "I wonder what you taste like..."

That.

She snapped her notebook shut with a sigh, and leaned away to avoid his curious fingers. "My darling won't like that either." Then she arched an eyebrow. "This isn't all of you."

They all eyed each other for a second, and Reiji sighed. "Shu isn't here," he muttered. "Not that I expected him to be. Honestly, that lazy deadbeat..."

Laito had been keeping his distance, but suddenly he was right beside her, grinning down at her. "How old are you?" He asked, his voice growing more breathy as he leaned closer to her. "You're older than I am, aren't you? Can I call you mistress while I drink your blood?"

"Not if you value the tongue in your head," she replied coolly.

He laughed. "Scary~! You're so feisty, Little Kitty! I can't wait to make you submit~. You seem like you'd be more fun than the Little Bitch..." On the other side of the couch, Yui winced and looked down. Laito smirked. "Though, Little Bitch is pretty fun too~. She makes the cutest sounds when I bite her. Shall I show you?"

He reached across her for Yui, and suddenly there was a knife point right at his heart. There was a collective jerk as they all froze in place, and Thalia fixed them all with a hard stare.

"Listen assholes, I'm here for one main reason," she stated firmly. "To keep Yui as safe as I can. I I'm fairly certain that you're all abusive pieces of shit that not only hate each other, but just hate in general, so I'm here to make sure none of that hate and general fuckery," she waved the hand not holding the knife in the air to indicate what she meant. "Ends up directed at Yui, who literally does not deserve this. At all. Are we clear? You," she pressed the knife harder against Laito's neck. "Back up."

Still smiling, although it had dimmed slightly now, he held up his hands and leaned back until Thalia was satisfied with the distance. The knife seemed to disappear into her sleeve. "We weren't made aware of this," Reiji stated firmly.

"Oh," a new voice said. "It's you."

"Shu!" Reiji snapped at the newcomer. "Did you know about this? You never mentioned we would be having another guest."

Out of the others, he had the most distinguishable features. His hair was orange, and he looked to be the tallest of the group. There were earphones plugged into his ears, attached to a tiny music player strapped around his neck. The man, Shu, shrugged lazily as he walked over to a couch at the farther end of the room and flopped over onto it. "Must have slipped my mind," he mumbled around a yawn.

"So who is she?" Kanato asked curiously. "Is she another bride? I thought the one we already had needed to be dead first."

Shu didn't answer for a few long seconds. Just as Reiji was beginning to get impatient, he responded. "She is...protection...for the bride. We're supposed to treat her with the same courtesy we show the prospective brides."

Immediately, all eyes turned to Thalia, who blinked back in an unconcerned manner and turned back to the perfunctory check-up she was performing on Yui. "How are you feeling? How often do they drink from you anyway? Do they feed you? I hope they feed you more than just cranberry juice. I don't care how much of that stuff you drink; I'm just surprised you're not anaemic right now! Here, I brought some trail mix."

"Um, thank you..."

Seeing there was no help for it, Reiji adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "I suppose I should show you to your room. You don't seem to have very much of anything, however," he eyed the small bag by her side, to which she responded with a smile.

"Don't worry, my darling should be bringing my things soon. I'll be fine for the night."

That was the third time she'd mentioned a _darling_ , and while she could just have easily been talking about anything else, Reiji decided that the odds of such a woman already being taken were fairly high. Unlike Yui, she had a presence that spoke of experience and capability. His eyes fell to her milk-white neck. "Then let me show you to your room."

* * *

Ψ†Ψ

* * *

Her room was located right across from Yui's. Unlike Yui's, it was sparsely furnished, with plain white sheets and a flat, economical duvet. Thalia paused in the doorway to take it in, and then nodded at him. "Thanks, this is fine." Then she turned and walked straight into Yui's room.

The girl squeaked in surprise. "What are you-?"

"I don't know much about the person I'm supposed to be protecting, other than that you went missing a few weeks ago and now you've been trapped by vampires. We should talk," she gave Reiji a sharp nod. "Goodnight." With that, the door clicked shut.

Reiji stared at the door, and then made his way back to the tearoom where the others were still seated. Ayato was fuming, Kanato seemed to be involved in a very engaging conversation with his teddy bear, and Laito was taunting Subaru about his lack of response to the fresh blood in the house.

He left off when Reiji reappeared. "How is the little Kitty settling in?"

There was a scoff from Ayato. "She's crazy if she thinks she can keep Pancake away from Yours Truly."

"I don't know, that knife looked pretty sharp~…"

"I don't see why we couldn't just kick her out," Subaru grunted, arms folded across his chest. "She's just going to cause even more trouble."

"Regardless of that, it's too late now," Reiji massaged the bridge of his nose. "We've offered our hospitality," he shot a dour glare in Shu's direction, which went unnoticed by the man. "At the moment, she talking to Yui in her room. Remember, we are to treat her the same way we treat Yui."

There was general agreement, ranging from reluctant grumbles, to sighs of pleasure, and a consensus was reached: Thalia would be staying on the behalf of her mysterious employer.

Later that night, on his way to his study, Reiji paused in the hallway. The door to Thalia's room was open just a crack, and the lights inside were off. For such a seemingly knowledgeable and capable individual, that seemed a little strange. He could hear footsteps, a heavier, muted tread than the sharp click of the pretty heels she'd been wearing all evening.

He walked in, intending to speak to her, and stopped short. Thalia lay fast asleep on the plain bed, hair splayed about her pillow, her duvet pulled up and over her chest, but leaning above her at the side of the bed nearest the window, was a tall black shape with glowing magenta eyes. The shape stroked her cheek gently with hands that looked more like the claws of a beast, and she smiled softly in her sleep.

As though it had just spotted him, the shape straightened unhurriedly, and made a shallow bow. "My apologies for intruding," its voice was smooth and deep, definitely masculine. "I have brought Thalia's bags. Thank you for allowing her to remain here on such short notice. I trust you will take good care of her."

Then, as though it was perfectly within its rights to do so, the creature bent and kissed her fully on the mouth, ignoring him as it did so, and then suddenly it was gone. The only evidence of its presence was the fluttering sheets at the half-open window, and the bag of luggage pushed against the bed.

Reiji stared, and then turned and left the room. As he did so, he recalled Thalia's words from earlier that evening.

 _Don't worry. My darling should be bringing my things soon._

It seemed that there was more to their new guest than he'd originally thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**If you're wondering why Sebastian is so chill with Thalia being in a house with a bunch of homicidal/horny vampires, it's because a) he knows his bae can protect herself I mean lbh, and b) he knows that there is absolutely no chance in hell that she will fall for any of them. Sebastian mainly gets jealous when the person that gives Thalia attention happens to be someone she might actually like e.g. Arthur Conan Doyle as opposed to Charles Grey.**

 **Dine With Us**

Thalia awoke with her lips tingling and her skin buzzing. Her luggage was also in the corner where it hadn't been the night before. So Sebastian had come. She blushed an embarrassed pink, even as a smile appeared on her face. He'd probably watched her sleep the whole night like the creep that he was. Oh well, it wasn't like she _minded_ that so much. He was a creep, but at least he wouldn't hurt her. Unlike some people.

She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. 11 a.m., almost ridiculously late compared to she was used to, but it couldn't be helped. Yui had explained the night before that the inhabitants of the house were near nocturnal, and were far less active during the day than they were at night. In addition to that, they had a Night School that they apparently attended.

She covered her mouth to hide her yawn, and climbed out of bed. Well, first things first, she needed a layout of the house. Maps were all fine and good, but hands-on knowledge was so much better. Nodding decidedly, she then went about her daily morning routine. The bathroom was gorgeous, and she soaked for a while in the bathtub before scrubbing herself clean. Next, she brushed her hair, taking care with it and pretending that it was Sebastian gently smoothening out the many tangles.

Thalia then pulled on her dress, socks, and boots. Then she strapped her knife holsters to her thighs. The lady stood in front of the mirror, turning herself left and right, smiling at her image. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked out of the room.

The door to Yui's room was still locked, which was a good sign. She considered knocking on it to see if the girl was awake, but decided not to. Besides, there were other things she needed to do before the boys woke up.

By the time Thalia had finished her perfunctory, sweeping exploration of the house, it was around 4 p.m. and the first stirrings of undead life were beginning to manifest in the form of Kanato coming down the stairs, swaying gently from one side to the other. The hand not clutching his beloved teddy bear was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He stopped when he saw her, and blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Exploring," she replied. "How was your sleep?" Kanato didn't make her blood boil in the way Ayato and Laito did, but didn't feel like someone she should dismiss outright. He rested precariously on the line between being rather cute, and creepy as hell, and she wasn't sure what to do with that.

Kanato yawned, looking younger than normal. Without the constantly dark bags under his eyes, he might have been squarely on the cute side. "I'm hungry…"

"So am I. I guess I'll go wake Yui up so we can both eat," she walked past him up the stairs. "Don't." He paused, his fingers a scant inch from her arm. "Even think about it kid. I'm not food, and neither is Yui. Unfortunately, blood is off the menu right now."

Ayato was scowling and fiddling with the lock of Yui's door when she reached the corridor. He turned that scowl on her, once again baring his teeth. "Locking Yours Truly out of Pancake's room was a stupid move," he stalked towards her. "She belongs to me. Don't get in my way."

"Referring to yourself as ' _yours truly_ ' makes you sound annoying and pretentious as fuck," Thalia commented bluntly. "Which is pretty much what you are. If only all assholes had signs attached to their heads like you do." She crossed her arms across chest, her expression was wholly unfazed. "You could not sound any more like a cheap villain if you tried. Besides, people don't belong to other people."

He laughed. "Maybe for humans, but I'm not human. I'm _better_ than you pathetic creatures! You're nothing but food to me! I take all that I want and all that I see. It's a ruler's prerogative to torture his conquests, isn't it?"

The vampire snarled when she rolled her eyes again. He could detect no fear from her, and it angered him, especially when she spoke again. "Shall I reiterate? _Cheap. Villain_. You're all the same. Boring."

"Oh my~?" The two turned when Laito appeared, probably also to see if Yui's room was open. He grinned when he spotted Thalia. Her hands went to her sides, one resting lightly on her hip. "What's going on here~? Ayato, are you arguing with the new Mistress~?"

 _Mistress?_ Thalia wrinkled her nose at the title, but said nothing. Ayato grunted. "She was rude to Yours Truly!"

"You really should stop calling yourself that. There are studies that link high levels of narcissism to extremely low self-esteem." Thalia stepped neatly to the side when he made an irate lunge for her. "What? Did I strike a nerve?" It was always good to have a read on your enemy, and Ayato seemed fairly simple: loud, egotistical, and more likely to lash out without thinking. He was the kind of opponent that Sebastian would have driven to distraction with his mocking. Thalia decided that she'd been around the demon for too long.

Ayato gritted his teeth, fists clenched by his side. Laito watched from the sidelines with interest, until the door to Yui's room clicked open and her head peeked out. "Thalia…?"

"I'm here," she unceremoniously turned her back on Ayato. The redhead gaped at the back of her head as she held out her hand to Yui. "I think dinner is ready. Are you hungry?"

"Y-Yes." The girl shot wary looks towards the men, but took her hand gratefully. Thalia pulled her in close, tucking her against her side. Ayato and Laito followed closely behind, one fuming, and the other grinning.

* * *

Dinner was uncomfortable for almost everyone involved, except Thalia, who had calmly walked over to the seat beside Yui where Ayato was about to sit, and tipped him out in the most cavalier fashion. "Have you never heard of _ladies first?_ Honestly, you're all such brutes. No wonder you treat Yui like this."

He jumped to his feet, fists clenched. "Why you-!"

"Shut up!" Subaru snapped.

"But she-!"

"Ayato!" Reiji's voice brooked no argument, and the redhead gritted his teeth and moved to the empty seat across the table from Thalia.

Yui stared down at her plates of food. It all looked so delicious, but honestly she hadn't had much of an appetite in a while. The knowledge that the food that had been dished so lavishly was only being used to fatten you up will do that to a person. Thalia, however, was having none of that. "Yui, you should start eating."

"O-Oh. Alright…" she reached for the glass of what looked like wine, but was more likely you be cranberry juice.

Thalia pushed her hand away in an almost maternal way. "Bread and vegetables first," she instructed. "Then everything else."

The table was silent, apart from the gentle _clink_ of metal cutlery on china plates, and the occasional muffled _thud_ of wineglasses on the fabric-covered table. "You haven't eaten much yourself, Mistress~," Laito commented, suddenly very close to her face. "Would you like me to feed you~?"

She didn't spare him a glance. "If you'd like to lose the hand you use, then you're welcome to try."

"Laito." The redhead turned to Reiji, who seemed to be in charge of maintaining at least some semblance of order. "It's bad manners to get to your feet during a meal."

"Yes, sir," he smirked and straightened up. Thalia took a bite of her bread, and looked up in surprise when Shu got to his feet. Judging by his nearly full plate and empty wineglass, he hadn't eaten much either.

With her mouth full of sliced tomatoes, Yui stayed quiet, even when he opened his eyes and stared at her. Finally he muttered, "This is a pain," and left the room without another word.

Reiji said nothing until the door shut behind him. Apparently his adherence to etiquette, rules, and good manners didn't quite extend to not talking about people behind their backs. "That deadbeat," he muttered. "Nothing good can come of anyone who grows up spoiled."

Thalia hummed noncommittally, and took a bite of her dessert. "Teddy, what would you like to eat next?" Kanato asked his toy. "Let's have a banana snowball!" Thalia's eyebrows went up as he began to stab at his food with his fork, first slowly, and then with near manic glee.

"He won't even make an effort to attend our monthly dinner party," Reiji was still talking. No one else made any comment, and all in all it made for the strangest and most dysfunctional family dinner Thalia had ever attended. Finally, the meal ended, and everyone stood to leave. Thalia was pleased to see that Yui had eaten at least ¾ of everything that had been placed in front of her. Her dessert was largely untouched, but that was okay because that just meant more for her.

She pulled the small plate of what looked like a currant tart towards her place as Yui got to her feet quietly. "I'm going back to my room," she whispered.

"Will you be alright?" Thalia asked. When the girl nodded, Thalia sincerely doubted that, but she nodded and let her go.

Reiji arched an eyebrow at her once Yui had disappeared from the room. "Your table manners are atrocious," he chastised. "Don't think that I plan to overlook this simply because you are new. One of these days I shall discipline you thoroughly."

"You wouldn't be the first." A drop of currant juice landed on the corner of her mouth. She licked it off. The rest of the tart disappeared in four large bites, leaving her lips stained pale red. Reiji watched her mouth with unexpected fascination until she got to her feet. "Thank you for the meal."

He caught her arm as she reached for the door. Beneath the softness of her skin was unexpected muscle, rendering what would otherwise be delicate, to something strong but controlled. She arched an expectant eyebrow at him. "There was a strange man in your room last night. I take it that was your lover?"

"If he was dressed in all black with red eyes, then yes." He spied the flush of pink that tinted her cheeks, and repressed the urge to grimace. "I mentioned that he would be dropping by to deliver my things."

"It is bad manners to enter a house without permission," Reiji's voice was clipped. "I shudder to wonder what kind of lowlife he must be if he doesn't even know that."

Thalia felt her lips twitch upwards, just barely repressing a smirk. "Lower than you'd imagine. I'll let him know then," she yanked her arm out of his grip, and pulled open the door. She spoke over her shoulder. "Next time, he can come in through the front door just like everyone else."

Rather than head straight for her own room, or Yui's room, Thalia took a detour and made her way towards the games' room. She could hear voices coming from inside, one of them being Ayato's. Another was Shu's, and the last one was Laito's.

Then she heard Yui's voice. "Ms. Thalia won't-!"

"Don't bother calling for that annoying bitch!"

"Too late." There was a collective start when she walked into the room, and Yui almost melted with relief at the sight of her. "Honestly, I asked if you were going to be alright and this happens. So, what are we all doing here? I heard something about darts."

Laito's grin widened, and he leered at Thalia. "Oh, let's make this even more interesting~! How about we let the winner have first pick of the Little Bitch and Mistress~?"

"What's with all the commotion?" Reiji interjected. He had followed Thalia, and entered the room behind her. "What is everyone doing here?"

Ayato explained what had happened, along with the proposed game and prize(s). On the couch, Shu sighed, annoyed that his peace and quiet was being disrupted. "I couldn't care less about her," he grunted. "So be quiet and let me sleep."

"I thought you might say something of the sort," Reiji scoffed. "He shrinks back from any challenge. If you look up the word _spineless_ in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of him beside it. He can't do anything without help. Good for nothing deadbeat."

 _Well if I thought this family was falling apart before…_ Shu didn't respond for a moment, and then he sat up and swung his feet onto the ground. He didn't look at any of them. "Ayato, I'll play your game."

"Then I'll add one little caveat," Thalia stepped forward. "The winner has to beat me. If I win, then you can do whatever you want. If not, we're going to bed."

Ayato gritted his teeth, and then smirked. Shu's expression didn't change, and Reiji's eyes narrowed. Laito looked intrigued. Yui clung to her arm nervously. "Ms. Thalia, are you sure?"

"Don't worry," she patted Yui on the head. "I have some confidence in my aim."

Twenty minutes later, both Ayato and Shu were neck and neck. "If Shu lands this next shot, that means one of you will belong to him~," Laito commented. "Ah~, I'm jealous. I wonder which one of you he'll pick~."

"If he manages to beat me, then he can pick and choose," Thalia replied easily. Yui's arms were still wrapped tightly around her own.

He giggled. "You're so confident, Mistress~. I wonder if I can taste that in your blood…" The dart landed, drawing his attention. "Whoo, not bad! Ton 80!"

"My turn," Thalia tugged lightly until Yui let go of her, and then held out her hands for the darts. They were dropped in her palm unceremoniously. "What was it you got again? Ton 80? Doesn't matter, I'm pretty sure a bull's-eye beats everything."

Eyes widened. "You can't be-!"

 _Thud!_

 _Thud!_

 _Thud!_

Thalia turned to face them, providing an unobstructed view of the three darts lodged securely in the centre of the board. "You were saying?"

Laito whistled loudly after a beat of silence, and loosened his grip on Yui's shoulders enough for her to wrench free and attach herself to Thalia's side. Ayato found his voice. "How did you-?"

"Sheer skill," she interrupted. "Now, if you'll excuse us." Halfway to the door, Thalia paused. "Oh, that reminds me," she cocked her head at Yui. "Who bit you?"

"Huh?"

"You have bite marks on your neck and shoulder. Who was it?"

"…"

"You're not going to tell me? Fine then," she turned back to the males in the room, and before anyone could move or speak, slammed Ayato face-first into the wall. "I already know you did it," she spoke casually, grinding his face against the concrete with more strength than any of them had expected. "And you were so angry at Shu, which means the second person was probably…"

Ayato dropped to the ground like a rock as she turned her gaze on Shu. Before she could take a step forward, a pair of thin arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Yui looked up at her pleadingly. "Ms. Thalia, it's okay! I'm fine!"

"…are you though?" Yui nodded, and after a moment of contemplation, Thalia sighed and lowered her hand, flexing her fingers. "If you say so, then alright. We should go to bed." She cast a benign smile over her shoulder, and in the candlelit gloom they could almost have sworn that her eyes glinted red. "Goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thalia be like "I came out here to attack people and I am honestly having such a good time right now"**

 **I Saw My Lover By Moonlight**

Yui wasn't sure what had prompted her to stop Thalia. Of course she wanted to say that it was her naturally kind disposition, he dislike for violence, her delicate sensibilities, but she knew that that wasn't all of it.

She looked at the woman beside her. Thalia couldn't have been more than 2 inches taller than her, although her boots lent her an extra inch, but she held her head up with firm confidence. For someone who had more or less crushed a man face-first into a concrete wall, she looked virtually unruffled. If Thalia had been in her place, Yui was sure she would have crushed everyone immediately. None of them would have been able to assault her. None of them would have dared attack her. Yui wondered what kind of man was able to handle the other woman, when Thalia spoke suddenly, jolting her from her thoughts. "I should teach you how to throw a punch."

"W-What?"

"You," she repeated. "Need to learn how to throw a punch. You're entirely too defenceless, and even if you can't fight them off, you should at least be able to land a blow."

Yui's brows furrowed anxiously. The idea of violence made her almost queasy, and prior to this nightmare, she had never seen that much of her own – or anyone else's – blood before. "I don't know," she said uneasily as they turned into the corridor with their rooms. "I don't think I'd be strong enough to do any real damage."

"Sheer strength isn't the only way to physically hurt someone." Like the night before, instead of going straight into her own room, Thalia walked into hers instead. Compared to the room across the hall, Yui figured that her bedroom was the larger and brighter of the two, with softer sheets and a more welcoming aura than the stark functionality of Thalia's. "Many fighting styles focus more on technique, rather than brute force. We're going to focus on something basic for now though. Here." Yui blinked in confusion when Thalia held up her palms. "Punch me."

" _What?_ "

"Punch me. Right now. As hard as you can," she waggled her fingers enticingly, and held them up loosely. "Don't worry, you won't actually hurt me."

Yui eyed the woman nervously, and then swung her fist ineffectually. Her face went pink as both of Thalia's pale eyebrows went up. "Oh my gosh, that was adorable. You're adorable. That was also kind of pathetic, but we can keep trying." A gentle hand landed on the top of her head, and Yui's cheeks grew pinker as Thalia gave her a kind smile. "You're sweet. You don't deserve this."

After those words, Thalia left the room, and Yui remembered to lock the door behind her. Once the lock clicked into place, Yui placed her own hand atop her own head, and tried to will away the flush that had permeated her cheeks. She could hardly remember the last time she'd been touched so affectionately.

* * *

Thalia went to the roof instead of her bedroom. The moon was not quite full, but it was bright and it lit up the velvet sky brilliantly. The night air was cool, almost chilly, and but despite the short dress she wore she didn't notice the dip in temperature at all. Entranced by the view from so high up, Thalia walked over to the edge of the roof and placed a hand on the cold iron fence. The wind tossed the short curls of her hair off her face, and she let her eyes fall shut.

Then she felt a faint gust of hair against her face as something moved in front of her, right on the other side of iron fence. Something large and black and inhuman, though the more you stared, the more humanoid it seemed to get. Glowing eyes, the colour of hot coals opened up, as did a smile with white, razor sharp teeth.

It spoke. "You appear to have had fun this evening," the monster spoke. The voice was masculine, deep and pleasantly accented. Thalia smiled, happiness settling in the pit of her stomach at the sight of her lover.

"I'm just trying to keep myself entertained," Thalia replied. She leaned against the fence fully, resting her palms against the iron bars. "Isn't that what you like to do?"

"And isn't that what you like to scold me for?" He countered. She grinned mutely in response. A clawed and shadowy hand slipped through the bars and cupped her cheek. The palm was almost the size of her entire face. "It's a pity that we must be separated," he hummed thoughtfully. The claws brushed through her hair with a tenderness that was almost unprecedented. "I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with your new living situation."

Thalia snorted and tilted her chin up so he could better touch her. "That's just you being possessive." The monster grinned and consented. The hand on her face curled around the back of her neck, brushing against the black mark, and sending little sparks of electricity up her spine. "But," Thalia caught the hand in her smaller ones, and brought the clawed fingertips to her lips. "If it makes you feel any better, you've been given permission to come in through the front door just like everyone else. Not like you needed it anyway."

"It would be rude to trespass where one has never been invited."

Thalia giggled and nuzzled into his hand. "And I suppose you're just the textbook definition of politeness, aren't you?"

The two shared a kiss through the bars of the fence, and Thalia – not for the first time – tried to describe what it felt like to be kissed lovingly by a being comprised entirely of malevolence and sin. Too soon, he pulled away, and the razor sharp grin returned. "It seems you have company, my darling. Shall I see you again?"

"Mmm," Thalia kissed him again. "Yes." And then the dark shape was gone, and she was alone with the moon and the quiet, and a nosy vampire. She sighed, and turned around. "Laito, what are you doing?"

* * *

Laito had not intended to follow her to the roof. He had meant to corner her in her room, and ask her how she'd managed to subdue Ayato so easily. He had also maybe planned to fight her, dominate her, and show her just what she was: a meal. He'd seen her exit Yui's bedroom, and been equal parts annoyed and amused when he heard the click of a lock falling into place. However, she had then turned and begun walking out of the hallway and through the corridors.

Further stalking showed that she was heading for the roof. Laito snickered quietly. This was even better. The roof was far enough away that, even if any of his brothers heard her screams, they wouldn't be bothered to come find her. The roof was the one part of the house that he frequented often, especially on nights when the moon was almost full. She'd probably hoped for some privacy, maybe a chance to gaze at the stars and the waxing moon. Then, just before he could walk out from the darkened corner of the roof, the night took an unexpected turn.

Thalia _had_ been up there for privacy, but apparently the darling she'd mentioned several times wasn't the normal human he'd assumed they'd be. The creature she'd rendezvoused with through the bars of the fence was large, shadowy, and near demonic. What _was_ that?

Yet, Thalia looked utterly besotted with it. The two had shared whispers, light touches, and kisses as though they were perfectly natural.

They spoke too quietly for him to hear, but all of a sudden Thalia's head turned and her eyes landed directly on his hiding spot. A second later the monster was gone, and she had her back against the iron bars and asking him what he thought he was doing. Seeing that there was no point hiding any more, Laito stood up, cocky grin in place. "I thought I smelled something delicious up here, Mistress~."

"Did you follow me?"

"Can you blame me~?" He ambled closer, grin widening when she didn't move from her spot. "I've never seen any of the other girls take Ayato down like that~. Ah~, it makes me want you more~."

She grimaced and shuddered. "Every time you talk, I get the urge to bleach my skin off. I thought already told you _no_."

"And I thought it was obvious that I don't care what you want," he cornered her against the metal. Excitement, hunger, and lust twisted somewhere in his gut, and he let his fangs elongate. Still, Thalia stared up at him unflinchingly. It was almost unnerving, but that didn't matter. No matter how fearless she seemed now, she'd be in pain soon enough, and it would be good, so _good…_

Laito yelped as a pair of red eyes the colour of burning coals appeared in his line of vision. A mouth opened, revealing gleaming teeth a hundred times sharper and more deadly than his own, and a maw that seemed to absorb light itself. He reared back in panic, and then blinked in confusion. There was nothing there, nothing but the moon, and the sky, and a horizon of trees and road.

 _What was that?_

Thalia blinked up at him innocently, eyes wide and curious, having still not moved from her original position. "What's wrong, Laito? You look like you've seen a ghost." He couldn't respond, and the slow smile that curved her lips was distinctly saccharine. She patted him on the shoulder as she walked passed him. "Goodnight, Laito."

* * *

Ψ†Ψ

* * *

"Your form is off." Under Thalia's watchful gaze, Yui quickly corrected her stance until she nodded. "Good. Again."

There weren't many places conducive for training and physical activity within the mansion, but Thalia had decided that they would have to make do with one of the disused rooms. Like most of the other rooms, it had large windows that let in the late afternoon sunlight and lit up the dust particles hanging suspended in the air. The carpet was musty, covered in near-threadbare patches, and peeling at the corners, but it was soft enough that Yui's knees came away unscathed whenever she fell. Which she had. A lot.

Yui swung her fist again, aiming for Thalia's open palms. She had never seen herself as a fighter, and she felt a bit silly. However, she had to admit that she had been making some progress. Her punches weren't as weak as they'd originally been, and her swings weren't as wide.

One of her punches slammed into Thalia's palm with a resounding smack, and the woman nodded approvingly. "You're doing well." Pleased with the praise, Yui smiled. "Now remember: On your first swing, you should try aiming for the throat, or chest," Thalia tapped her solar plexus. "It's a good way to wind your opponent, if not kill them outright. Aim for the nose too," she tapped her own dainty nose. "If you're feeling lucky. It's cartilage, so it'll break easily. Hit it at the right angle, and you might even be able to shove it right into your opponent's brain."

Yui grimaced nervously. As much as she liked Thalia, she had to admit that the woman's cavalier attitude towards brutal violence was a bit…discomforting. She wondered what kind of life she led, and decided to ask. "Ms. Thalia?"

"Just call me Thalia." Earlier Thalia had unlaced and toed off her boots, and she had sat down on the largest item of furniture in the room – a large dusty couch – to slip them back on.

The sudden familiarity threw her for a second. "Thalia…how do you know how to do all this?"

The fingers tying up the laces of her second boot paused, and Thalia looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Well, my life hasn't exactly been a field of flowers," she exhaled and then fixed Yui with a n expectant gaze. "What exactly do you want to know?"

A flurry of questions fluttered to the forefront. Yui decided to start from the beginning. "You mentioned that someone hired you to watch out for me. Who do you work for?"

"My cousin," Thalia replied.

"What about the rest of your family?"

"Dead."

Yui wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "I'm sorry…"

Thalia waved her hand dismissively. "Don't apologise, it happened ages ago."

Yui decided to return to her original question. "How did you learn how to do this?"

"Well after my mother died, I lived on my own in the back-alleys of London for about 10 years, and then I learned that I had one surviving family member and started working for him, which turned out to be just as if not more dangerous," she finished lacing up her boots and leaned against the back of the couch. "You either learn to take care of yourself quickly, or get hurt in the process. Or worse."

"That sounds awful," the girl said, awkward but genuinely sympathetic. Thalia shrugged and smiled at her. One of the grandfather clocks in the house began to chime the hour, and Yui gasped. "It's getting late! I have to get ready for school!"

Thalia watched her hurry flutter about and out of the room, and followed her at a more sedate pace. "I should probably get ready as well," she commented aloud.

Confused, Yui whirled around to stare at her. "Y-You're coming with us?"

"Of course," Thalia smiled back. "Did you honestly think I'd let you disappear with those assholes for hours on end?"

Relieved and grateful, but still befuddled, Yui's brows furrowed. "But…you're too old to attend school…aren't you? How old are you?"

"Isn't it rude to ask a lady her age?" Thalia giggled as though she'd heard a particularly amusing joke, and walked ahead of Yui. "But wouldn't _you_ like to know?"

* * *

"What is _she_ doing here?" Ayato looked a second away from stamping his foot. Thalia blinked up at him slowly, and pointedly crossed her legs together to make herself more comfortable.

While it was more typical of the older or stronger person to take the seat by the door, so as to protect the weaker party in the event of a malfunction or crash, Yui considered the seat by the door to be the safest option. It meant that she had Thalia on her only free side, and the distance between her and the person opposite her was too great for them to pose any great threat. Plus, that person was Reiji, and he never acted out in public.

He adjusted his glasses. "It appears she's alerted the night school of her presence," he explained.

"Mistress is really taking her job as a seriously~," Laito commented, and Ayato hissed rudely. "Stop scowling and get inside or we'll be late."

Muttering in irritation, Ayato climbed into the car and settled himself as far away from Thalia as he could, though this also had the unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on who you asked) effect of putting him far away from Yui as well. With Yui sequestered safely on one side, Thalia considered the person on her other side: Shu. The man was slumped in his seat, eyes closed, and ears plugged with music.

She hadn't interacted much with the strawberry blonde vampire, outside of last night when she'd nearly attacked him, but he seemed fairly lethargic. In fact, he could be compared to a carnivorous plant: do not disturb; stay far enough away from it and it won't attack you.

The car ride was uncomfortably silent. None of the brothers spoke to each other, and no one spoke at all other than Kanato, who seemed to be having a quiet conversation with his teddy bear. Then Reiji spoke. "You haven't drunk your juice."

"Huh? Oh…" Yui glanced down at the cranberry juice-box in her hands. She always had to drink one during the 20 minute car ride to school, and the fear of becoming anemic, and growing painfully weaker and weaker over time had pushed her to consume it without complaints. It had become almost second nature to her, but Thalia's sudden appearance, and the fact that she's managed to go an entire 48 hours without losing any of her blood, had disrupted that ritual.

In all honesty, she was growing sick of cranberries. She didn't want it. As though reading her mind, Thalia turned to her. "You ate earlier today, didn't you?" Since they'd both woken up early that morning, Thalia had prepared a protein scramble for her, made with eggs, bacon, and green peppers. "Then I'll take this then." Seven pairs of eyes watched as she plucked the juice-box from Yui's hands. Five if you didn't count Subaru and Suu.

Reiji snapped his book shut with barely concealed displeasure. "She needs to replenish the blood she loses."

"She needs actual food, not sour fruit juice," Thalia pushed the straw through the foil seal, and sipped. When she licked her lips, the juice stained her lips pink.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Night School**

The Night School – which Yui did not know the actual name of, so she had simply been referring to it as _The Night School_ – looked like any other college building that Yui had ever seen. Certainly it looked more expensive than your typical educational institution, but other than the numerous windows and the general air of polish, it looked fairly normal. She had never seen it during the day – she was never allowed out of the house ever – and she wondered in the back of her mind whether it was even open during the day; was there a Day School as well as a Night School like that one show she'd watched some time ago? What was it again? Oh, right, _Vampire Knight_.

Speaking of which, hadn't there been a girl like her in that story too? Yui didn't want to have to marry a relative to get out of this.

While Yui had never quite agreed with the protagonists romantic choices, at least she had been able to protect herself in some way. _She_ hadn't needed a bodyguard to keep her from losing copious amounts of blood every day, but Yui was grateful for Thalia's appearance. The older woman was like a breath of fearlessly fresh air, and her complete lack of concern for the vampires made Yui feel as though she didn't need to be so afraid either. She was kind of like the Zero of her story. The thought made her blush.

Yes Yui knew Thalia was attractive; and that her appearance, if anything, was quite striking, and that she seemed to have this almost otherworldly glow to her, and that she was fairly certain that Reiji had set his sights on her. However it was one thing to know something to be true, and a completely new thing to see heads turning as Thalia made her way through the corridors. The hard soles of her heels thudded rhythmically against the thinly carpeted ground, and the short uniform skirt she wore twitched back and forth. It was a little odd seeing her out of her typical white sundresses, but Thalia had assured her that she was always packing _at_ _least_ 5 lethal blades on her person at all times.

"Unfortunately we won't be in the same class," she said, stopping outside Yui's class and ignoring Ayato's grumbling. "You're with Ayato and Kanato, and I'm going to hope neither of them does anything in class. Call for me if they do though."

Thalia was with Reiji and Shu. The former shot her a stern glare from the corner of his eyes. "Unless you want a whipping, you won't do anything reckless."

She caught the glare and arched an unimpressed eyebrow back at him. "Yeah, whatever you say good sir."

The class quietened when the three of them walked in. Thalia took in the room as silently as they did her, and then made her way to one of the empty seats. Reiji took the one next to her and pulled out a book.

As soon as she broke eye contact with them, they broke out in whispers. One of the vampires, a girl with black hair and grey-blue eyes sauntered over to them. Her grin was sharp and curious. "Oh, did you guys get another human? Isn't one enough?"

"One is arguably too much," Thalia replied though the girl's eyes were on Reiji. She was obviously surprised to hear the human talking.

Reiji narrowed his eyes at her. "Sorry. She's not exactly well trained."

"Tragic, I know," Thalia turned away and put the two of them out of her mind for the next hour. Instead, she thought about Sebastian, and wondered if he would come visit her soon. She hoped he was taking good care of Ciel, and not throwing the boy off buildings as practice. Once had been more than enough.

Reiji stared at the back of her head silently. Her hair was an artful mess of loose curls and they looked soft as silk. He imagined coiling his fingers through the soft mass, then gripping them tightly and yanking her head back; her neck would be bared and tense, her pulse racketing higher as he bit and punctured the skin. He wondered what her blood would taste like…

She exhaled softly, and he followed her gaze to the window. There was a large black cat sitting on the tree outside. The feline was staring into their class with large red eyes, and Thalia seemed completely enraptured by it. His eyes narrowed; did she like cats that much?

The moment the class ended, Thalia was up and out of her seat and walking out the door. Reiji followed her, partly because he was curious, but also because class was over, and it was time to leave. If she knew he was following her, she ignored him all the way down the stairs and out into the courtyard and to the tree.

The cat stared at her placidly from its perch, blinking its fire-coal red eyes slowly and looking almost fond. Then without warning, it got to its feet and leaped down from the almost bare branches of the tree and landed squarely in her arms.

She caught it without flinching, and the feline curled up in her arms, purring contentedly and rubbing the top of its head against her chin. Thalia turned to face him, a pleased smile on her face. Reiji narrowed his eyes at them. "What are you doing with that?"

"Cuddling," she replied with no small degree of nonchalance. Then she cooed lovingly at the cat. "Isn't he adorable? The cutest. Cats are so great."

"You cannot bring that thing into the car with us. I forbid it," he snapped, and then felt annoyingly off-kilter when she simply turned to him with a withering expression. The cat looked almost smug, and lifted its head so she could scratch its chin while continuing to purr loudly and almost pointedly in his direction.

The door of the building flews open, and Yui fell out into the cool spring air, winded and panting breathlessly and apparently too afraid of whatever was chasing her to care about the other vampires already inside. She ran over, and just managed to firmly attach herself to Thalia's side when another figure filled the doorway. Ayato scowled at them, teeth bared in disgruntled defeat. Behind him was Laito, and to Thalia's immense pleasure, his nose was dripping with blood.

She glanced over her shoulder at the other girl. "Did you punch him?" Yui nodded. "Kept your thumb on the outside like I showed you?"Another nod. "Good girl."

Yui beamed shyly at the praise, and finally noticed the black cat staring at her flatly over Thalia's shoulder. "Oh, what a cute cat!"

"I know, right?" Thalia smiled. "I saw him outside! Isn't he gorgeous?"

"He's probably covered in fleas and disease," Ayato scoffed, eyes still narrowed as he stalked over to them.

Thalia responded like he'd just insulted her mother. "He is not!"

"Stop talking to it, Mistress," Laito said. His nose may have been broken earlier but it was all healed now though the blood still remained. "It's not fair. When did you teach the Little Bitch how to throw punches~? I want you to teach me things too~"

The cat hissed loudly, and Laito blinked at it suddenly unsettled by the glowing red eyes staring at him. Cat eyes didn't glow like that, did they? "I'm not riding home with that thing," Ayato snapped, similarly unsettled but reluctant to show.

"Ms. Thalia, you are our guest. You will abide by our rules, and we do not condone animals within the car or the mansion. If you are unwilling to obey, then you may not like what happens to it next." The threat hung in the air, and Yui's grip on her arm tightened a fraction. For some reason Shu tensed in the background while the others looked on as spectators waiting on her response.

She and the cat looked wholly unimpressed. "Yeah, sure. Alright Yui, come on, let's go for a walk."

Laito burst into laughter. "A walk? And you think we'd let you? Didn't the Little Bitch tell you what happened the last time she tried to run?" Yui's grip on her tightens until she must have been cutting off the circulation to the rest of Thalia's arm, but the woman doesn't flinch. She does cock her head to the side in interest.

"Yui," she said quietly, "do you want to tell me what happened?" Yui shook her head. Her heart felt like it was going to break its way right out of her chest, and her whole body felt cold and clammy like a corpse had breathed on her. Thalia didn't push it. "I see only a few ways forward then. Either you let us into the car after I beat at least one of you up, or Yui and I walk back after I beat at least of you up."

"And those are the only choices?" Shu asked dryly. That was the first time he'd spoken all day.

Thalia shrugged. "I mean, there's the hidden option where you all suddenly develop that thing known as a conscience and realise that you're being assholes and no one gets beaten up, and we all ride back, cat included. But, like I said, it's hidden."

"Well could we hurry up and pick one?" Subaru snapped. "I want to go home, not stand around while Ayato and Reiji have a dick contest with a woman."

Thalia actually burst out laughing. "Ha, you're funny. You get a point for being funny."

Subaru stared at her silently, unsure how to respond to that. He wasn't exactly grinning at the praise, but it did warm him a little that someone thought that about him. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had said anything kind about him. The constant and pervasive aura of hatred, dislike and general negativity that encompassed the halls and rooms of the mansion was draining.

The cat glared at him, and then gave a disgruntled meow when she passed him over to Yui. "Hold my darling, won't you?"

"Where do you get off acting so high and mighty anyway?" Ayato snarled. "You think you're so strong just because you managed to land a few lucky shots?"

"Where do you get off thinking you're so great and wonderful yourself?" She replied coldly. "Now either get in the goddamn car, or fight me and _then_ get in the car."

The air was tense and silent for a moment – their little altercation had drawn a few eyes – and then Reiji hissed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ayato, Laito, get in the car."

"What-?!"

"Get. In. The car." They both obeyed the gritted out instruction, and Subaru, Shu and Kanato followed suit. The purple-haired boy had been silent throughout the whole exchange, his eyes flitting from one person to another and his expression one of mild interest.

Once all four had folded themselves into the limo, Reiji stared angrily at Thalia while she took the cat back from Yui and kissed it on the nose. The cat meowed, turned its knowing and smug gaze on the vampire, and then twisted itself out of her arms and disappeared into the night.

Thalia stared after it with some disappointment, and then sighed and pushed her hair out of her face. "Alright, _fine_. He's gone. Can we get in the car now?"

* * *

Ψ†Ψ

* * *

The car ride back is the tensest Yui had ever experienced. If she concentrated, she could almost hear the sounds of teeth grinding together. Maybe that would help things, she thought to herself. Maybe they could get so irritated that their teeth would wear away. She caught herself smiling, and wondered how long it had been since she'd been able to do something as simple as make herself smile. Before Thalia, she'd been too afraid to even lift her head, terrified that any wrong move would sent teeth stabbing into her neck. People liked to think vampire bites were romantic, pleasurable even, well they weren't. They hurt. They hurt so, so much. It takes a lot to break the skin with something as blunt as teeth.

Thalia had an arm around her shoulders, and the hand of that arm in her hair. The position meant that Yui was forced to rest her head on her shoulder. That wasn't exactly a bad thing, Thalia was comfortable and smelled fruity and warm.

When they got home, Thalia tailed her to her room, and settled down at the end of the bed. "So. What happened?"

"What happened with what?" Yui asked, unbuttoning her blazer with fingers that had started to tremble.

"Don't pretend with me, Yui," Thalia replied in the same tone. "Tell me what happened the last time you tried to run."

"That makes it sound as if I tried to run lots of times," she grimaced and folded up the item of clothing. When she spoke next, her voice was quieter than before. "It was a while ago. Maybe a month after I started living here. Kanato left my bag on the roof as punishment for bringing him coffee instead of something sweet. I think he knew Laito was up there, that's why he did it. Laito attacked me, so I ran. The front door was open for the first time in what had felt like ages, so I ran outside. I kept _running_ and _running_ , but he was always just _there_ _!_

I found a phone booth and tried to call my dad, and he was on the other end as well. I don't know how or why he had my dad's phone, but he did, and he dragged me back here again." It wasn't until gentle hands turned her around and brushed her cheeks that she realised that she'd been crying. She kept talking as Thalia dried her tears. "I think I fainted after that because when I woke up, I was inside that little chapel on the grounds behind the manor. Laito was there. Then he...then he..."

Thalia pulled her into a fierce embrace. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me anymore. You are so, so brave Yui."

The two women sat there in silence as the night bled into the dawn and Yui finally fell asleep.

 **If any of you have seen episode 4 of DL then ya'll know exactly what I'm talking about. How the fuck is this shit supposed to be romantic I'm going to fucking fight the makers**


	5. Chapter 5

**SO to the guest that noticed that yes, Yui does have a mild crush on Thalia! It's less genuine romance and more hero-worship, but it is hella gay.**

 **Down You Go**

When Yui woke up the following morning, her face was smushed into Thalia's neck and the older woman was snoring softly into her hair. They were both still fully clothed from the night before, having fallen asleep after Yui had cried herself to near exhaustion. She hadn't cried properly since she'd arrived here. It would have felt like an admission, like giving up. With Thalia, it was like opening a damn. For the first time in a long time, Yui felt ready to make some changes.

Yui stared down at the older woman silently. When she'd first arrived at the manor, she'd thought that maybe if she was kind enough, if she made herself less of a target, if she did her best to be unassuming and quiet and obedient, then maybe they would leave her alone. Maybe they'd stop hurting her so much and even consider her important, if even like an endearing pet. Months had passed, and her hopes had been beaten so raw and bloody that it was a miracle they were still standing.

Maybe it was time to kill them off before this all killed her. It was clear that, no matter what she did, they wouldn't magically start treating her any better.

She kept staring at Thalia's face, lost in thought, until her eyes started to slip shut and she fell back asleep. When she woke again, Thalia was out of the bed, bathed and dressed, and gently placing a heart-shaped pretzel covered in sugar crystals on her bedside table.

Yui stared at it dumbly for a long moment, sleep making her brain work slowly. "I didn't know you could bake."

"I can't," Thalia replied breezily. "There's a bakery right down the street. I'll take you some time."

"You left the mansion?!" Her drowsiness disappeared in a flash and Yui sat up quickly, ignoring the way the suddenness of the motion made her head spin. "And none of them saw you? How?"

Thalia smiled and licked her sugary pointer finger. "I'll tell you later. Eat before that gets cold. I feel like they always taste better warm," she hopped onto the bed with her own treat: a large chocolate croissant. Judging by the size of the bag and the golden flakes on the side of her mouth, that hadn't been the first one. "I also got some books. I don't think you get enough opportunities to read here. What did you do all day?"

Yui picked at the pretzel. It was soft, exactly the way she liked it, and smelled absolutely divine. "I mostly stayed in my room. Sometimes I go into the garden when no one else is there." She took a bite of the pretzel, tasting nutmeg in the glaze. It warmed Yui from the inside. "What books did you bring me?"

Thalia took a bite of her croissant, already halfway done with it. She reached for her bag on the floor and pulled out a selection of three books. "These two are cookbooks, and this one is a fantasy novel," she passed them to Yui. "I hope you don't mind, I grabbed them at random from the bestsellers shelf."

"Thank you, Thalia," the girl smiled with simple joy at the thought of having something to occupy herself with. She wanted to thank her in some way though and, while nibbling shyly on her snack, she offered quietly, "maybe…maybe I could do your hair?"

"Would you?" Thalia grinned back at her, licking the last vestiges of chocolate from her fingers. "I like my hair short, but honestly sometimes it's more hassle than it's worth. Maybe I should grow it out a bit?"

Yui didn't say that she thought Thalia would look beautiful no matter what she did with her hair. When the snacks had been eaten and fingers licked clean of sugar and chocolate, the two ladies spent the next hour or so playing with each other's hair until they ran out of Yui's bobby pins and butterfly clips. And then, Thalia left the other girl to her reading, and went to find something to do.

Kanato found her on one of the narrow balconies, perched delicately on the railing and slowly eating a handful of cherries while she contemplated the late evening sunset. "You'll fall," he said quietly to her.

"No I won't," she replied just as casually. He blinked, surprised, and sidled closer to her side. Up close she smelled strongly of cherry juice and baked goods. His brows furrowed gently; where had she gotten baked snacks anyway? The kitchen hadn't been used at all and, if she had gotten treats why hadn't she shared any with him?

Showing an almost childlike level of ignorance by not considering all the abuse they'd put Yui through, Kanato scowled and shifted closer. "You could," he insisted quietly, but Thalia just smiled and turned to look at him. Her eyes were the same colour as the cherries and they unsettled him a little. "Ayato and Laito don't like you."

"Oh really?" She sounded amused. "Who else doesn't like me?"

The anger dissipated a little in the face of the smile. "I…don't know…" Kanato frowned and hugged his bear closer to his chest.

Thalia chewed another cherry, playing with the stem in her mouth. "What about you?" She asked mildly. "Do you like me?"

Kanato frowned harder. "I don't know…you're not like Yui-chan. You're not scared like she is. Yui-chan has less scars than you do though. Her skin is nicer than yours."

"True," Thalia glanced down at her sock-less legs, white and pink scars on obvious display. She'd stopped feeling so self-conscious about them a long time ago. "Yui's sweet. I don't even think she hates any of you despite what you do to her."

The vampire stiffened and snarled. "Yui doesn't hate us! _She doesn't have the right to hate us!_ "

"I don't think you understand basic human autonomy. She might not hate you now, and she might not ever hate you, but she is never going to like you," Thalia stared him down with those dark eyes that almost seemed to be glowing. "And one day she is going to leave this place, and then she will wake up and something inside her will have shifted and snapped and she will be filled with so much dislike for all of you that even I might be surprised."

Kanato tightened his grip on his teddy, and then relaxed it. "Then that just means we can't let her escape," he said in monotone.

The woman arched an eyebrow. "I mean that won't exactly stop it but-"

"If she stays, we can change her."

Thalia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kanato I'm not sure you're aware how horrifying everything you say is. You can't-"

And that was when he shoved her off the balcony.

Thalia only had time to let out a loud screech of surprise before she plummeted to the ground. Kanato stood there, and then he peered over the edge of the railing. He could see Thalia's body lying on the cobblestones, bones bent in directions they shouldn't be. Bright red blood stained her forehead and pooled on the grey stones beneath her.

His breaths came heavily, leaving him dizzy and unsure of how to feel. He'd killed lots of women, both out of hunger and pleasure, but at this moment he couldn't help feeling a strange mix of disappointment tinged with relief. Thalia had built herself as a strong, nigh unstoppable object, and all he'd had to do to get rid of her was push her off a three-storey balcony.

At least she was out of the picture now. If one of his brothers wanted to drink from her broken corpse that was their business.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Thalia hummed to herself as she walked the blue-wallpapered halls. As far as attempts on her life went that was the only one that had actually taken her by surprise. Usually the people trying to kill her were more upfront about their homicidal intentions.

A sound reached her ears, something like moans and whimpers coming from one of the rooms. She paused in front of the door and cocked her head to the side. It wasn't Yui so really she had no real reason to look inside, but she was curious, so she pushed the door open.

It looked like a cross between a laboratory, a greenhouse, and a study. There were labelled plants hanging from the ceiling and between the glass instruments on the large table on one side of the room. Towering mahogany bookshelves filled to the very tops with tomes and journals lined almost every part of one wall, the rest filled with hanging shelves and an oil painting of a woman. The fire in the fireplace was out.

Reiji sat sleeping in the only the armchair in the room, a book open on his lap and an empty cup of tea on the table in front of him. He looked uncomfortable and vaguely vulnerable, like he was having a nightmare.

Thalia stared at him silently, and then walked closer. "Reiji?" She reached out to tap him on the shoulder.

He grabbed her by the wrist before she could make contact with his shirt. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard sad noises and came rushing to see what was happening," she replied dryly, pulling away.

Reiji sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose, not because it was particularly crooked but more to properly realign himself. He stood up. "I will prepare some tea."

Thalia watched him move around the room. Soon the smell of fresh tea permeated the air, mingling with the scent of chemicals and old paper and reminding her of old times. She smiled softly, lost in thought, until Reiji sat down again with a full teapot and only one teacup. It wasn't that she was disappointed, but simply taken aback by the level of rudeness. Honestly, he hadn't even offered her a place to sit.

She arched an eyebrow at him, a hand on her hip. He took a sip of his tea, savouring it for a moment, and then glared at her. "Have I completely forgotten to inform you of your own position? Did you honestly believe that I would make tea for you?"

Thalia sighed and shook her head. "I'm beginning to realise I shouldn't expect anything from any of you. You're all so rude it's very shocking."

"Rude? You dare be so presumptuous-"

"Yes, yes, how dare I ask to be treated with humanely and with respect. How awful of me, I get it," she waved him off and walked over to one of the shelves, peering at the clean book spines. Most of them were scientific journals interspersed with a few books on theology and politics. "So, this is a nice room. I thought you might be the scholarly one. Does no one else use it for anything or is it totally private? Kanato, or Shu…"

He hissed and stood up again. "Just hearing that name makes my ears feel unclean."

"I get the feeling you all don't like each other very much," she quipped and got no response.

Reiji walked over to the large window, the one that took up nearly all of one of the walls, and stared unseeingly out into the night for a long time, his mind lost to memories until Thalia's impressed hums brought him out of his reverie. He turned to look at her and found her gazing at one of the hanging plants with bright blue flowers.

His eyes narrowed. "I will make an exception, just this once. Sit."

She rolled her eyes but sat in the chair he'd vacated, crossing slender ankles. God how he wanted to kiss those ankles and rip out the tendons in them, leaving her broken and unable to walk.

He returned with a fresh cup of tea for her. "Thank you," she accepted it with a smile and inhaled the aroma of milky-sweet tea. Then she took a small sip.

Reiji fingered the phial of antidote in his pocket and waited. And waited some more. Finally he began to wonder if he'd misapplied the dose when she was half done with the cup and showed no signs of nausea or near paralysis.

"Mmm, this tea is delicious. So what do you do here?" Thalia asked cheerfully. "Other than distil date-rape drugs I mean."

He started. "What?"

"Oh please, I can taste the chemicals in the tea," she told him, putting down the empty cup. "I don't appreciate being experimented on, and if I find out that you tried this on Yui I will tear you apart. As soon as I tear Laito apart," she stood up, her skirt swishing about her thighs. "Good talk, Reiji. Goodnight!"

Reiji stared at the shut door, and then turned his gaze on the teacup. His dislike for her and his attraction to her warred in him, making his head ache. By god why did she have to be so perfect?


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm just gonna put it out there: this chapter starts with a lot of Yui crushing on Thalia. Anyone who has anything against femslash but still reads/watches 'yaoi' and coos about her gay babies can fuck right off. Thank you.**

 **Come Say Hello**

"Kanato was acting strange last night," Yui remarked as she and Thalia walked through the gardens, arm-in-arm. The feel of the cool breeze and the gentle warmth of the late afternoon sunlight on her cheeks were gloriously welcome. The fact that Thalia was beside her, warm and solid and strong, made her feel grounded and safe. Yui remembered the days she used to spend creeping around the gardens, terrified that she'd run into Ayato or Kanato, or stumble upon Shu taking one of his impromptu naps.

The woman laughed, face turned towards the sunshine. "Yeah, he was," she replied vaguely, recalling the shocked, almost horrified look on the boy's face when she turned up for dinner looking no worse for wear. "Hey, Yui?"

"Hm?" Yui looked up curiously.

A bird flew overhead, a hawk with wide wings circling above the trees. "Do you want to go outside today?" She asked without looking at her.

"O-Outside?!" Yui froze. Thalia stopped a step in front of her and turned around. Panicked and paranoid that one of the brothers might have been listening, Yui came closer and lowered her already quiet voice. "You want to take me outside? Are you helping me escape?"

Thalia cocked her head to the side. "Do you want to escape?"

Yui opened her mouth to reply that yes, yes she did want to escape. She wanted to be _done_ with this horrific nightmare in which she was nothing more than a walking punching bag and snack dispenser. Then she remembered that she had no home to return to, a vanished father, a community that had willingly sold her into this.

It dawned on Yui then for the first time that she was utterly alone in the world. The thought shook her. She turned back towards the mansion and stared at it thoughtfully. Even if the Sakamotos were cruel to her, at least if she stayed here she had food to eat, a bed to sleep in, a roof over her head. Compared to a life of destitution…

Yui jumped back when Thalia clapped her hands directly in front of her face, startling her out of her depressed thoughts. "Ah, ah, ah. No. Don't you _dare_ start thinking you're better off here just because you're used to the sort of suffering you experience. I am right here, Yui. I am going to help you no matter what."

Yui stared at her with a dumbfounded expression, and was embarrassed when tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry…" she wiped at them hastily, mortified. Ugh, why was she like this?

"You don't need to be sorry," Thalia cupped her face and thumbed the wetness away with a small smile. "It's okay to cry. It doesn't make you weak." Yui snorted wetly and wished she could believe that, but it did make her feel a bit better. She couldn't help the blush that coloured her cheeks when Thalia squeezed her cheeks. "There. Now, about my invitation to go off-grounds for a while…?"

"How are we going to do that?"

Thalia cocked her head like she didn't understand the question. "Um…through the gate…?" At Yui's unimpressed stare she grinned. "Okay so it's going to be a little more dramatic than just waltzing right out. Interested?"

She was interested but at the same time… "Maybe later?" Yui said hesitantly, wondering if this was a one-time offer that would never come up again.

"Sure," Thalia shrugged nonchalantly. "We'll have a day out whenever you're ready. Do you want to go swimming then?"

"Swimming?" Yui echoed bemusedly. "Oh, you found the pool?"

"Yep," Thalia popped the 'p'. "I didn't even know this house had an indoor swimming pool. I thought vampires couldn't cross bodies of water."

"I think that only applies to running water," Yui told her, "like rivers, or oceans."

Thalia frowned thoughtfully. "That seems weirdly arbitrary. I wonder why. I'll ask Sebastian when I see him."

Yui smiled slightly at the mention of Thalia's mysterious darling. She wasn't sure what to call him; boyfriend sounded too juvenile, but partner also seemed a little formal. "What is he like?"

"Sebastian?" Thalia cocked her head and smiled. "He's smart and sarcastic and rude and he doesn't care much about the feelings of other people. Except me on occasion," she added. Then she shook her head with a fond smile. "He's sweet to me. And very possessive. Something tells me that this job arrangement is killing him."

The other girl wasn't sure what to make of any of that but Thalia looked so pleased. "You must love him a lot then," Yui said with a little sigh. What was that like? To love someone so much and be loved in return…?

Immediately Thalia's face went bright pink and she clapped her palms to her cheeks. "Oh my gosh, don't say it out _loud!_ " She hissed, eyes wide.

Yui blinked at her. "Why not? What's wrong with saying that you love hi-"

" _Shhhhh!_ " Thalia covered Yui's mouth with a hand that smelled very nicely of vanilla."He can _hear_ us! I don't know how, but I know somewhere in the world he's already thinking up ways to make fun of me!"

"For loving him?" Yui mumbled in confusion.

"It's a standing joke," she muttered. She removed her hand and absentmindedly began patting Yui's hair. "Now can we move on from me and go swim?"

"I don't know how to swim," Yui confessed, pushing her head into Thalia's gentle hands.

"I'll teach you," Thalia said. "Or you can stay at the edge of the pool and stick your legs into the water. Whatever makes you feel comfortable."

Yui hadn't quite forgotten it, but apparently the more traumatic memories of her near-death experience by drowning had been nicely suppressed by her brain up until the moment they turned a corner and arrived at the entrance to the large room that housed the indoor swimming pool. Yui took an unconscious step back and felt her vision begin to grow unsteady.

Thalia didn't notice; she had already started stripping, chattering about how she didn't _have any swimming clothes_ but that was alright _because underwear works too_. Yui was briefly distracted by her internal panic by the curve of Thalia's hips and the sight of all that fair, unblemished skin but that didn't last. Slowly her breaths began to grow shallow and thin; she couldn't breathe, she was falling, falling…

"Yui? Yui!" She peered at Thalia from between her knees. "Yui, Yui, it's okay. You're okay. I'm here. Breathe with me. In…out…in…"

Slowly her breaths grew steadier until she no longer felt like there was a giant weight crushing her heart and lungs and ribs. Thalia watched her worriedly. "Sorry," Yui croaked.

"No, don't apologize," the other woman said softly. She eyed Yui and then glanced back at the water. "We don't have to be here if it makes you feel so bad."

"I didn't know it would," Yui murmured. "I should have suspected though. I mean, the last time I was in here Ayato tried to drown me."

Thalia stiffened. "Oh. Well Ayato isn't allowed near you at all," she declared. Then in a softer tone she asked, "do you want to leave? We can find something else to do."

Yui shook her head, "no. You wanted to swim. I'll be fine if I just stay here."

"Are you sure?" Thalia frowned, searching her eyes for the truth. When Yui just nodded and arranged her legs into a more comfortable perch she nodded. "Okay. I'll just do a few laps and be right out."

With a pat to the cheek, Yui watched Thalia walk back to the water and slide in like some graceful water nymph. The sounds of the water splashing against the sides of the pool were calming and Yui let her eyes drift shut for just a moment. She only ever felt this relaxed when Thalia was around and she wondered what would happen if the other woman left.

Thalia drifted around the pool, relishing the buoyancy and the water lapping against her skin. She stared up at the shadowy ceiling and recalled the last time she had gone swimming. Sebastian had been there and at some point he had dragged her to the bottom of the pool for privacy.

She had lost a good bikini that day.

The sound of footsteps alerted her to someone's presence and she turned around to see Subaru, or as she liked to call him: the one who wasn't a total asshole.

Yui was surprised to see him. She couldn't recall ever having a conversation with the vampire and unlike his brothers he had never done anything to her. Yui wasn't sure how to approach him or if she should be backing away quickly. "Um, hi?"

He glared at her – to be fair he was always glaring so it might just be his default expression – and glanced at Thalia. Only her hair and eyes were visible in the water but she wasn't radiating murderous vibes.

"I heard splashing and thought Ayato was trying to kill you again," he muttered.

"Ayato isn't allowed near me," Yui repeated Thalia's earlier words. "But thank you. For coming." Unless he'd planned to just stand there and watch. She was completely in the dark about his intentions.

Subaru just grunted and turned to leave. "Also, Reiji wanted to talk to you," he directed this at Thalia.

"Then he can come find me himself. I'm not a dog he can fetch and call to hee-SEBASTIAN!" With an excited squeal, Thalia jumped out of the pool in a cascade of water and, without even stopping to put on her dress, sprinted from the room in a blur.

"Thalia!" Yui ran after the other girl, in her rush managing to ignore both Kanato – who had a terrified look on his face – and Laito. By the time she caught up to the other woman the scene that greeted her was a surprise.

Thalia was kissing a dark-haired man in the doorway. He was tall with dark hair and a fairly muscular build – not overly large but enough that you could tell. He was dressed in formal clothes, a bit like Reiji but more modern. The jacket of his outfit had been draped over Thalia, hiding her from sight though it didn't hide the fact that he was hugging her in a manner that just skirted the line of PG. Yui immediately averted her eyes but she couldn't shut out the quiet sounds of lips meeting.

Laito whistled, he had come to see what was going on but he hadn't expected this either. He was both jealous and turned on because that's just the sort of person he was. Reiji tried to keep his composure but the pen in his hand had snapped upon seeing them. Kanato still looked horrified for some reason.

Thalia pulled away with a breathy gasp and beamed up at the man. "Sebastian, you're here!"

"How could I not be?" He nuzzled her ear, eying the other occupants of the house over her shoulder. Even Yui stiffened and she wondered if he could tell that she had been harbouring less than platonic emotions for Thalia. "Why don't you introduce me?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Well Met, Demon**

When Yui had pictured Thalia's partner, she had imagined someone exactly like the pale-haired woman; someone graceful and gentle and kind.

Well one out of three wasn't _terrible_.

Sebastian, as Thalia had called him moments ago, _was_ graceful. His every movement was elegant and controlled, like a large predator slinking through the jungle, but there was no gentleness in his eyes when he stared at the group over the top of Thalia's hair. He perused them with a little smile on his face and some awful emotion burning in his eyes, turning them magenta.

Then Thalia pulled away to slide herself more firmly into his jacket. In that moment he blinked and grinned and the flames were gone. Yui barely had a moment to shiver with fear when Thalia grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. "Sebastian, this is Yui!"

"Ms. Komori Yui," Sebastian looked down at her and, in a move so polished it brought stars to her eyes, he bowed and brought her hand to his lips. He kissed her fingers chastely and, after weeks of tangoing with the Grim Reaper every time one of the Sakamaki's got hungry, that soft kiss made her entire face glow bright red. "A pleasure. I do hope my darling is taking care of you?"

"Oh – she's – um!" Yui stammered, tripping over her words until a voice snapped through the air like a bullwhip.

"Excuse me!" Ayato yelled. He stalked forward, jealousy boiling and bubbling in his stomach, mixing with all the other toxic traits inside of him. "Who the _fuck_ is this and why the _fuck is he touching Pancake?_ "

"My apologies," Sebastian said, not sounding at all apologetic. He turned to Thalia and cocked his head inquiringly. "Darling?"

Thalia was momentarily confused, and then her lips parted. "Oh, right! Sebastian, these are the Sakamaki's! Ayato, Kanato, Subaru, Shu, Laito, and Reiji."

She pointed to each brother in turn and Sebastian followed her with an implacably polite smile while he put faces to the names in Thalia's stories. When he got to Reiji he noticed that the vampire was glaring at him. While the other vampires either regarded him with wariness (Kanato), interest (Laito), or complete apathy (Subaru and Shu), Reiji stared back at him with sheer dislike. No, it was something more than that.

The monster that resided in the place of Sebastian's heart bared its teeth. It wouldn't strain against its chains, not for a vampire of all things. Vampires were considered to be on the lower end of the devouring scale, just a step above Wendigos, yet the demon was possessive to a fault.

Thalia shot him a pointed look when he slid a hand higher up her hip and he smiled sweetly back. Over a hundred years together and he still hadn't quite managed to get a handle on his jealousy. She decided to let it slide for now and asked him the question that had just occurred to her. "Sebastian, why are you here?"

"Isn't it enough that I wanted to see you?" He lowered his head and pressed several firm kisses to her soft red cheeks. She squealed and laughed and the monster purred. Hell he had missed her.

Someone cleared their throat. "No offense," Subaru said, "but this is getting uncomfortable to see."

That seemed to break a little of the silence that had formed between the other brothers. "I can't believe Mistress has a lover," Laito cooed, sounding disappointed but not disappointed enough. In fact, he sounded like that was just another challenge. Then he snickered behind his fist. "That's just too bad, Reiji~."

Shu scoffed and walked out of the room, utterly uninterested and unwilling to watch the spectacle. Subaru hung back near the edge of the room, too curious to leave for good but still interested in seeing how this would all play out.

Reiji turned to stare at Laito with icy eyes. "What's too bad?" He questioned in crisp tones.

Kanato, who had been avoiding Thalia ever since the attempted-murder debacle, suddenly gasped and took a step backwards. "High Demon," he whispered, too quietly for any of his arguing siblings to hear him. However a pair of glowing magenta eyes and a flash of beastly sharp teeth pinned him in place.

Then they were gone and he turned to Thalia again. "Shall we take a walk around the grounds, darling? I would like to talk to you."

"Oh, is everything alright? Is Ciel eating okay?" Thalia's eyes went wide with concern. Ciel had been adapting fairly well to his new demonic state but sometimes he woke up with screaming nightmares and would refuse to eat anything remotely inhuman as if he could forget what he'd become. Immortality was both a burden and a blessing on the young child.

Sebastian shook his head. "The young master is doing quite well. I believe he even misses you. So, may I?"

He held out his hand to her and Thalia immediately linked their fingers. Then she gave a guilty start and turned around "Yui!"

"It's fine Ms. Thalia," Yui did her best to look and sound brave despite looking like a fluffy kitten surrounded by hungry wolves. "I'll be fine."

Thalia pursed her lips, torn between her wants and responsibilities. Then her eyes landed on Subaru off to the side. "Subaru! Take care of Yui!"

" _What!?_ " The cry of shock came from most of the brothers including Subaru who could not have foreseen this ever happening.

Even Yui was stunned and didn't struggle when Thalia dragged her over to Subaru and placed her in front of the befuddled vampire. "You will protect Yui and I swear upon all the fires of Hell that if I see _one_ bite mark on her neck _there will be consequences_. Alright?"

Then she ran back over to Sebastian and the two walked out into the sunset-lit garden. Yui watched them go with a wistful expression, and then she squeaked when eight glowing eyes turned to stare at her. A hand landed on her shoulder.

"Hold on," Subaru muttered and then he picked her up and sprinted away from his brothers.

* * *

 **Why Subaru ya'll may be asking? Well it's because he's the only one who (to my knowledge anyway) hasn't tried to assault her. I know that's a fucking low bar but this is the show these are the standards we're working with people.**

 **I do not enjoy the 'good girl redeems damaged bad boy with the power of her love' trope because a) that's so unrealistic, and b) the bad boy needs a therapist not a girlfriend what is she Jesus? The Buddha? She about to drop some dope ass enlightenment on his sad ass?**


	8. Chapter 8

**WARNING: near the end there is a sex scene. I don't use any actual explicit words but I mean it's pretty obvious. Also I have decided to redeem Subaru who, as stated before, is the only one who hasn't tried to assault Yui. It's a low bar folks but this is the source material this is what I'm working with.**

 **A Moonless Night**

When Thalia had deposited the duty of Yui's protection and consequently her fate within Subaru's stunned hands in order to go gallivanting off with her gorgeous but incredibly creepy boyfriend, Yui would be lying if she hadn't thought some very mean things about the woman. Then she'd immediately felt bad because Thalia had been looking after her for weeks and didn't she deserve some time off?

Then she'd immediately frozen up with fear as several glowing eyes whipped around to stare at her, sharp fangs nearly dripping with saliva as four vampires advanced on her with terrifying intensity.

Arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind and she suddenly found herself swept off the ground. "I swear if you scream I will drop you," Subaru muttered in her ear and then he was running with her. Yui in fact did not scream, much to her own surprise. The scenery around her became a blur of brown furniture and orange sunsets seen through the windows. Her eyes stung and watered from the high speeds and Yui shut her eyes with a muffled whimper.

And then it was over. Slowly, hesitantly, Yui opened her eyes to take in her environment. The first thing she noticed was that it was dark; never a good sign.

"Oi, are you going to get down or should I drop you?"

"Huh? Ah!" Yui let out a squeak as she realised what position she was in. Subaru held her in a surprisingly conservative version of a princess-carry, one large hand supporting her back while the other hooked firmly under her knees. Yui couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever held her like this. Well except for her father...

She was shocked out of her thoughts quite suddenly when the hand under her thighs suddenly disappeared and she found herself literally crashing back down to earth. Letting out a surprised yelp, Yui managed to get her footing while Subaru eyed her dispassionately. "I warned you."

"...sorry," Yui murmured, stepping away from him. The hand that had been on her back fell away and she was surprised by how cold the spot felt. Although Subaru was the only brother that hadn't tried to hurt her, Yui was hyperaware of the fact that he was still a Sakamaki and was therefore probably tainted by whatever sadistic sickness had pervaded that family. He might not have tried to drain her dry yet but he had sat back and let it happen which was almost as bad.

Wary of him and unnerved by his staring, Yui quickly looked away and turned her attention back to the room they were in. It seemed to be a room on one of the mansion's top floors and was filled with all sorts of knick-knacks, from furniture covered in white fabric to thick books stacked up to her waist. There were two windows on only one wall but they had been boarded up. Through the faint streams of sunlight shining in Yui could see thousands of dust particles floating in the air. The sight made her want to sneeze.

She did and then flushed when she heard Subaru snicker behind her. It was surprising; she'd never seen the man smile before, let alone laugh. When she turned back to him however, his face was like stone as usual.

Yui rubbed her upper arms just to give her hands something to do. "Where are we?"

Subaru didn't answer for a long while. Just as she was beginning to wonder if he was ignoring her, he let out a sigh and replied, "It's an old storage room. None of us come up here and as long as you stay quiet they might not think to look here."

Yui nodded. "Thank you."

The vampire snorted derisively, his eyes flashing in the dimness. "Don't thank me. You're useless. If it wasn't for the ritual and your bodyguard you would have died a long time ago."

Yui flinched but didn't say anything. He was right, she was useless and weak compared to them. However she could almost feel Thalia's warm hands patting her on the shoulder companionably. _You're human. You may not be as strong but that can mean that you have to be clever, and you can be clever_.

The dust particles alighted on her skin and hair and then flew off in a flurry as Yui took a deep breath and then shook her head to dispel the more depressing thoughts. "Then what do you think I should do?" She demanded.

Subaru arched an eyebrow and leaned against the window. "You've gotten louder," he said, mildly impressed. "I'm sure Ayato will be pleased."

The thought of the violent redhead coming near her made Yui's skin feel like it was breaking out in hives. "What choice do I have?! I thought if I cooperated you would treat me better! I thought that if I kept my head down and did as I was told then maybe, _maybe_ , you would see me as a person and not a-!"

"A walking snack?" Subaru interrupted darkly. "And keep your voice down, or do you want to resume this conversation as a live-action demonstration?"

Yui huffed and bit her bottom lip. "...I just..."

Subaru watched her struggle, empathy, self-loathing, and hunger warring within him. Finally he let out a growl and stormed over to her. Yui took a quick step back but it wasn't enough and he grabbed her wrist before she could get far enough. To her surprise however, his grip was almost gentle. "You...You shouldn't feel bad that my brothers don't like you," he bit out the words, each one deliberate as if it was fighting to be spoken. "My brothers and I...we had fucked up childhoods. We're fucked up. We're not good people."

Yui stared up at him and he stared back at her. Dammit this close she smelled too good; sweet like honey and wine. A fruity scent wafted up from her thick hair, platinum waves cascading down her cheeks and curling at the base of her lily-white throat. In spite of any and all previous bites, her skin was clear and unmarked; a side-effect of vampire saliva. "Subaru? You're hurting me..."

The vampire jerked and realised that his grip on her had tightened. Reality hovered, suspended over the moment as he actually considered ignoring her and biting down. It wasn't like she could stop him. He could have her drained dry before anyone found them. It would be delicious, a fitting last meal for the last and most useless son.

Then Subaru pulled away, a wave of disgust rolling over him. The world snapped back into focus like a camera. He watched Yui cradle her bruised wrist in one hand, a ring of red prints branded onto her skin.

The two stared at each other. "I..." he started, flexing his hand. He could still feel the warmth of her body on his palms. She was so fucking frail, like a kitten that had been placed in a pen of wolves. One part of him wanted to pin her down again, hold her in place and make her cry out, but another side wanted to hug her and have her smile at him again. He decided to indulge that side. "...I'm sorry."

Yui gaped at Subaru, absolutely astonished. She didn't think any of them were capable of realising, acknowledging, or admitting wrongdoing. "You're sorry?" She repeated just to be certain.

In response he folded his arms again and huffed. "If you heard me then don't ask." Then he dropped down onto one of the fabric-covered armchairs. It sent up a plume of dust that didn't appear to bother him in the slightest but made Yui hide a giggle. If he heard her he gave no inclination.

"...then I forgive you," she said kindly. Subaru eyed her as though she'd said something completely unexpected and stupid but Yui was used to getting looks like that from Reiji so she just smiled back at him. She couldn't be sure but when he looked away his cheeks were the slightest bit pinker in the moonlight.

It had gotten quite dark, Yui noticed. Curious, she stopped rubbing her wrist and made her way over to the window. It didn't hurt that much though the bruises would take a while to fade. Through the wooden 'bars' she could make out the navy-grey sky. The moon was just a sliver of crescent, disappearing occasionally between the clouds. "It's almost time for a New Moon," she murmured. Yui loved the night sky. Back when she lived with her father she used to enjoy taking long walks around the neighbourhood or dragging a blanket outside so she could count the stars.

Subaru watched her move with something he could definitively classify as attraction and something else he hesitated to name but under the right circumstances he might, _might_ call...affection. Well he didn't want her dead or in undue pain which was close enough right? "You could run away."

"What?" Yui startled and turned to face him.

He nodded at the window and more specifically to the near-moonless sky. "On nights like this our powers are weakened. It's probably why no one's come barging in here despite all the noise. If you play your cards right you could escape."

Yui's eyes narrowed guardedly. "Why are you telling me this?"

The vampire shrugged with a calmness he didn't feel. "It's clear that your bodyguard won't let anyone drink from you. It makes no difference to me whether you escape or not." Memories flashed in his mind; his mother oscillating madly between telling him what a gentle boy he was and screaming that he was a demon, a spawn of incest and hell.

Subaru grimaced and forced the dark thoughts away and when he looked up Yui was standing right in front of him. Christ it was like she had no self-awareness. She frowned down at him, her brows furrowed. "I want to ask you something," she said and even without his more heightened senses Subaru could tell that her heart was pumping too fast. The scent was back but he forced back his growing canines. "What do you know about my father?"

* * *

oOo

* * *

"They were having a moment," Thalia hummed and then moaned when sharp teeth latched onto her throat.

The demon licked at the purpling bruise over her throat and nuzzled up to her ear. "I'd appreciate it if you could focus darling. We don't have much time," he said before taking her earlobe delicately between his teeth.

Thalia squirmed on his lap and pulled herself closer until she was straddling his strong thighs. "Well if you'd come in the morning then we'd have had more time," she pointed out. Sebastian blinked back at her and licked his upper ip deliberately. It sent a hot flash of want up Thalia's spine and she briefly lost focus, running her hands over his broad shoulders and through his ink-black hair. Her hand slid over his cheek and Sebastian turned to press a kiss to the centre of her palm, his lips burning like a brand.

His hand wrapped around her wrist, holding her hand in place so he could kiss her fingers. "You haven't even shown me your room," he hummed softly.

"You saw it the first night, remember?" Thalia closed her eyes and couldn't stop herself from pressing closer. Sometimes Sebastian was so romantic that it made her not-so-useful heart beat right out of her chest, and sometimes he was so passionate that she couldn't look him in the eye after some nights. Right now he was in lane one but it wouldn't take much to edge him into lane two and _they were outside there would be no sex outside._

Alright technically they were in the tiny chapel in the garden which wasn't the _worst_ place Sebastian had ever fucked her in, but still...

His hand moved to cup something and she squeaked. "Hands below the waist!"

"Mm, if you say so darling," he purred hotly and then his hand was elsewhere that, while still below the waist, was still unseemly. His free arm wrapped around her waist like an iron bar while she squirmed and writhed in place. "Doesn't it feel good? You're so beautiful Thalia, do you know that? Mm, I love when you hold me like that. I want you so much dearest; I'll make you feel so good sweetheart..."

Thalia groaned and buried her face in Sebastian's hair. Well it wasn't like she hadn't missed him.

* * *

 **Even though I'm ace I'm a huge slut for nicknames. If anyone ever calls me by an affectionate nickname just know that i am prepared to kill for you.**


	9. Chapter 9

**the people who gave me nicknames in the reviews, u saw my weakness, I am compromised, thank u so much.**

 **The Purple Lady**

Dinner was a very tense affair, which was a remarkable feat considering how uncomfortable most of their dinners were. It managed to grow even more uncomfortable when Thalia stumbled into the dining room, now properly dressed but still sporting some incredibly stylish sex hair and swaying like someone who had just been wrecked within an inch of her life.

She blinked owlishly at the vampires and then beamed at Yui. "Hey, you're not injured! Good job Subaru!"

Someone growled quietly and Reiji narrowed his eyes at her. "Where have you been?" He asked in a clipped tone.

She smiled coquettishly as she dropped into her seat, this time _not_ next to Yui but instead between Laito and Kanato. The latter shifted away slightly although he couldn't stop his eyes flickering in her direction every so often. Thalia ignored him and reached for her wineglass. It was filled with something thick and dark red which, when she sniffed, revealed itself to be merlot. Either these guys had taste or they really had an aesthetic to maintain.

 _It was probably both,_ Thalia decided.

No one spoke for the first course. All that could be heard was the quiet _clink_ of metal against china and chewing. On the other side of the table, Yui was feeling...something. It wasn't quite happiness but it was something good, something much more well-rounded than just plain pleasantness. The girl looked down at her plate and realised that she had eaten all of her soup without being prompted. When she reached for her glass Yui saw her reflection in the wine and it almost startled her. She looked...healthy.

It hadn't occurred to her how emaciated she'd seemed before. Being drained of blood and nutrients and sexually assaulted on an almost daily basis had left her thin and weakened. Her lips had been cracked and her cheeks were sunken, making her already large eyes look wider. Now though, she could feel the meat on her bones and the flush on her cheeks. She felt almost normal.

The brittle air didn't dispel when they'd all eaten and adjourned, however it didn't feel confined to just them. Yui locked her room door and went to her window to stare out at the sky where the moon was just barely visible behind a gloomy grey cloud. It was nearly 5 a.m. and the sky had started raining at some point. The twilight air buzzed with the sound of insects and frogs and the barely discernible feeling that _something_ was about to happen. With a sigh she placed her hand on the ice-cold glass.

Her gaze landed on something strange and she froze. There was a woman in the garden! Someone tall and slender, with cascading purple hair and skin like alabaster was standing in front of the rose hedges, uncaring of the rapid downpour. As Yui stared at her, wondering what to do, the woman slowly turned in her direction almost as if she could sense her gaze. Despite the distance and the darkness, Yui saw the dark red lips curve upwards in a cold smile.

Within her chest, Yui's heart was suddenly wracked with painful spasms. It was as though the muscle was trying to beat but someone had reached between her ribs and now had her heart in a vice-like grip. Gasping in pain, the girl collapsed to the floor as black spots swam in front of her eyes. Soon all she could see was darkness.

A room away Thalia was debating the pros and cons of getting rid of Sebastian's many, _many_ love bites when she heard the door of Yui's room creak open. Turning away from her mirror, Thalia frowned quizzically. Either one of the vampires had tried to break into her room again, or Yui had decided to take a midnight stroll. Both were equally bad options for obvious reasons.

Pushing open the door of her bedroom, Thalia spotted Yui ambling down the corridor. "Yui! Where are you going?" She hissed, catching up to the other girl. "It's too late for anythi-!" Thalia stopped herself and her eyes widened in surprise as she locked eyes with Yui and took in her blank, sightless stare. She was sleepwalking. Well that was weird.

Weirder than that however was the smell. Hovering over Yui's natural scent was the smell of perfume. Something floral, expensive, and definitely nothing Yui could possibly have had on her. Thalia pressed her lips together as she stared at Yui and then, reluctantly but curiously, she stood aside.

Staying just a few steps behind, Thalia trailed Yui through the mansion. She followed her through dark hallways and winding steps down and down until they reached the underground waterway. Here the air smelled like damp and mold. Their footsteps added rhythm to the quiet murmur of rushing water.

Yui kept walking, slowly, purposefully, until she suddenly let out a pained gasp and collapsed. Thalia gently caught her around her waist. "I've got you," she hummed. Yui was still asleep somehow but clearly something had happened to her within her dream. The smell of perfume was thicker now and it made the hairs on the back of Thalia's neck stand on end. The stench of rotting flowers.

Thalia got to her feet and surveyed the empty waterway. Then, with Yui in her arms, she walked away, retracing her steps back until Yui was back in bed.

From elsewhere a woman in a beautiful dress watched her leave and smiled.

* * *

oOo

* * *

Yui woke up sweaty, panting, and infinitely more exhausted than she'd been when she'd fallen asleep. On the plus side however, her ribs no longer felt like they were being cracked one by one so that was good. She pressed her palm against her collarbone and breathed in deep, feeling nothing but the memory of the pain. Relieved, Yui let out her breath in a rush of air and thought back on the bizarre dream she'd had.

If it was possible, and in a world where vampires were real it might actually be, she had stepped into a memory of the Sakamaki family. The ones she had seen had all been children ranging from five to eight. Considering their status as immortal monsters of the night, Yui had no clue how long ago this would have been but judging from the style of clothing it must have been at least a century ago.

They all had different mothers. Reiji had told her this himself but it was far more visceral seeing it for herself. There'd been a beautiful lady locked in a tower that was Subaru's mother, a strict woman with the same auburn hair as Shu and frigid stare as Reiji, and a lady in a black gown with purple hair.

The lady from the garden.

Yui massaged her chest as her thoughts raced. What did this mean? Who was that woman and why was she here? Weren't all of their mothers dead or had she just assumed that they were? Nothing was making any sense to her!

Someone knocked on the door, scattering her rapidly spiralling thoughts. "Who is it?" She called out, her voice croaky from sleep.

" _Just open the door,_ " a distinctly unimpressed male voice replied. Grimacing but relieved that it wasn't any of the others, Yui unlocked her door and peered up at Subaru. He scowled down at her. He really did look like his mother, Yui thought to herself but she got the feeling that he wouldn't appreciate her saying so.

She cocked her head at him. "Why are you here? It isn't time to leave yet." Night School didn't start until the sun went down and here he was standing in front of her fully dressed when there was still a good half an hour of sunlight left. Gods but she couldn't wait to stop being nocturnal.

Subaru was still scowling but it looked less grumpy. Yui would hesitate to call it bashful though but it was close. "Thalia," he grunted, "she said you had a nightmare. She wanted me to check up on you since I was already awake."

"Oh." Her earlier thoughts returned, less cacophonic but just as jumbled as before, "I did have a nightmare but it wasn't that bad. I'm alright. Thanks anyway."

"You don't look alright," Subaru retorted gruffly while he internally screamed at himself to walk away, _walk away!_ Why did he even care how she was feeling? They all got bad dreams, suck it up! Yui blinked up at him with wide, exhausted eyes and he groaned silently. "What...what was it about?"

Yui gaped up at him. First an apology and then showing actual interest in her as a human being? What was happening? "O-Oh, you don't want to know. It was stupid," she looked down at her bare feet. She couldn't tell him that she had dreamed about his childhood. They were all very sensitive about their pasts and while Subaru was being nice right now, that could change very quickly. The room was getting darker and she took it as an out. "I should go and get ready."

"Right," Subaru muttered. The door clicked shut between them. Unbeknownst to either, they both stand in place, palms pressed against the wood, the short distance between them filled with unasked questions.

* * *

 **OMAKE**

In the Phantomhive household, Ciel was enjoying an evening cup of tea while Sebastian artfully arranged a few books in the shelves. A radio in the corner played soothing classical tones, violin sonatas and piano pieces filling the cool evening air. The young lord inhaled the sweet hints of vanilla and freshly picked rose petals with a calm smile. And then he screeched and lost his grip on the teacup when something smacked into the window sending it flying open with a loud bang. "WHAT THE FU-"

Thalia perched on the sill, her wings flared and her eyes wide. "YOU GUYS HOW THE FUCK DO I KILL A VAMPIRE?"

* * *

 **Sorry this is so short and that it took so long, I have finals next week so I won't be able to update but as soon as it's over I will have a long chapter out for u! Thanks for sticking with me this far!**


End file.
